Kung Fu Komedy (KFK) will be hosting some of the world’s top comedic talent at this year’s China International Comedy Festival. The festival’s main attraction is the stand-up comedy competition that welcomes comedians from across China and internationally.
A knockout competition, the preliminary round will be held between Tuesday 25 and Thursday 27 April, with a final round on Friday 28. The competition’s final will take place on Saturday 29 at the Jiadu Theatre at 8.30pm.
The competition will be judged by Martin Morrow (US comedian and Second City cast member), Catherine Savage (Second City cast member, iO Theatre performer) and Amelia Chappelow (Melbourne International Comedy Festival judge). The first place comic will win 14,000RMB, performance spots at New York’s Comedy Cellar, LA’s Comedy Store, and more, with the second and third place finishers also receiving cash prizes and performance spots in the US.
The festival also includes showcases headlined by Martin Morrow (9pm, Friday 21; 8.30pm, Saturday 22) both at KFK which will also be the venue for the preliminary rounds of the stand-up competition. There will also be a Chinese-language competition running from Saturday 29 to May 1.
Morrow and Catherine Savage will be running comedy classes in the style of those held at Second City, the US comedy club/theatre/improv school that has produced world-class names such as Bill Murray, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Cecily Strong. The classes are Improv Skills for Stand-Up (Saturday 22, 2pm), Improv to Sketch (Sunday 23, 2pm) and a short form workshop (Saturday 29, 2pm). The classes will all take place at KFK.
The China International Comedy Festival Kung Fu Komedy. Club 1 Xiangyang Bei Lu. Apr 25-29. 50-200RMB; 350RMB Festival Pass (300RMB presale). Click 'read more' below to visit kungfucomedy.com for more details.
More from Time Out Shanghai
Shanghai's best foot massages for under 100RMB
5 spots to get awesome milkshakes in Shanghai